Genesis 25:19-34 (NRSV)
19 These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s
son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years
old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram,
sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac
prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted
his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children
struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I
live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to
her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there
were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like
a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother
came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was
sixty years old when she bore them.
27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful
hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28
Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came
in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Let
me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called
Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau
said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob
said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to
Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and
drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 25:19-34 combines a simple
accounting of the genealogy of Isaac, the story of the birth of Jacob and Esau
and the story of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob. Some character traits of the two brothers, eponymous ancestors of rival
nations (v. 23), have undoubtedly been emphasized to the point of exaggeration
by the narrator. Therefore, it would be unwise to press the narrative hard for
historical, psychological or cultural details about either individuals or
nations.[1]
Yet, the story raises some interesting questions I want to pursue.
Genesis 25:19-20, 26b is a simple
accounting of the genealogy of Isaac. Most scholars think the source is P. The
toledot formula, occurring 10 times in Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27;
25:12; here; 36:1; 37:2), introduces persons of sufficient importance to
warrant the advance of the story of the emergence of the people chosen and
called by God to be the people of God. It will be the story of one of the
children of Abraham, that of Isaac. They are Aramean in origin, as Deuteronomy
26:5 makes clear. He was old when he married at 40. He was older still when he
had a child at 60. He would live to the ripe age of 180.
Genesis 25:21-26a, 27-28, 29-34 is
the story of Esau and Jacob. The source is the J document. One question this story raises is the problem
that answered prayer can present. We need to be careful of that for which we
pray! The answer may not be peace and harmony. The story also pointedly raises
the question of our birthright. Many people have a wonderful family heritage. Sadly,
they squander it. One could also suggest that Americans have received a
heritage of liberty and are in danger of squandering it.
The theme of the childless wife is prominent in the stories of the
Patriarchs. Only here does the husband pray for the wife to have a child. In other
cases, the wife prays. In this case, the point of the story is the close
kinship that Israel and Edom share. Their shared history is one of struggle
over proper borders and who is supreme. The Lord answered the prayer of Isaac,
but the answer will bring conflict between him and his wife; the answer will
involve tension between the twins. The difficulty of the birth prophesied the
difficult relationship these two nations would have. Rebekah inquired of the
Lord at a local shrine and received her answer. Again, the answer to her prayer
is that conflict will be the theme of the relationship between the twins she
carried in her womb. The younger, Jacob, would be supreme over Esau, the elder.
The tension between the settled farmer, which would be the destiny of Israel,
and the semi-nomadic hunter, was typical of the stories of the ancient world. A
family conflict between Jacob and Rebekah will center on their evaluation of
Jacob and Esau.
We then read a story of the example that illustrates the difference
between the twins. Jacob valued his family connections, his birthright, while
Esau did not. True, Jacob was a trickster. Yet, the story raises the question
of what is of value to us. Most of us own something that we would find
difficult to sell. Yet, one can hope that some things are beyond sale, like our
integrity. The pressures and stresses of the moment can catch us off guard. We may
act hastily and rashly, as did Esau. We may say or do things in such moments
that we will regret later.
There are many examples of how this story repeats throughout history
and in our own communities. I think of the respected leader who sells away his
or her career and family for the momentary pleasure of an illicit affair. I
think of the businessperson who compromises his or her integrity by pocketing
huge profits at the expense of fair wages and treatment of the company's
employees. I think of the teenager who wrecks his or her future by
dabbling in drugs just because "everyone else is doing it." I think
of the driver who takes the wheel after an evening of drinking and takes a life
in a crash. I think of people born into a nation with a Declaration of
Independence who squander their freedom on trifles.
[1] (contra the remarks of S.R. Driver in his
commentary on Genesis [Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1920], 249).
No comments:
Post a Comment